Transmission stories to be thankful for
Transmission repair is all about solutions. Problems present themselves; repair professionals solve them. That’s why this Thanksgiving, we’re thankful for solutions. Here at TD, we pride ourselves on playing a role in getting transmission professionals the assistance they need, whether that’s technical info or just telling stories of industry successes. Here are five transmission stories,
Road to AAPEX: Can a 33-year-old Cadillac make it across the country?
You may notice a different type of show car at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo (AAPEX) this year. It only has 140 HP, with a four-speed automatic transmission, and clocks in at 20 feet long. This car is not arriving at the show on a trailer. Instead, it’s coming from Akron, Ohio, on its own power. The
Se habla Español!
I had an interesting phone call this month, one that reminded me that while transmission builders are the automotive equivalent of brain surgeons, they aren’t necessarily possessed with the skills of clairvoyance or telepathy. The caller wanted to know if there was a Spanish language version of the articles in Transmission Digest. While the magazine
The impact of oversized tires on transmission failures
Installing bigger tires on trucks is about as American as baseball, country music and apple pie. Unfortunately, big tires can also go hand-in-hand with something less enjoyable: transmission failure. You can guard against problems and better troubleshoot chronic failures by knowing the unintended consequences of oversized tires on the transmission, especially the role gear ratios
A wealth of information: Recapping the TCRA Annual Seminar
The profitable and proper remanufacturing of torque converters served as the focus for the 24th annual seminars and meetings of the Torque Converter Rebuilders Association (TCRA). The two-day event was held in the Detroit area in June and drew approximately 100 participants. As has been the case since the first of these converter segment get-togethers,
Biggest takeaways from the TCRA annual seminar
June 24 and 25 brought us the annual Torque Converter Rebuilders Association (TCRA) seminar, in which the organization meets to talk technical issues, vote on its board, and hold seminars. More coverage of this event is forthcoming in TD’s July issue, but in the meantime, here are some of the biggest takeaways from seminar day.
How the global parts supply chain comes together
Have you ever wondered, when you open up a transmission kit, how many nations all of these different parts came from? How many different journeys these parts had to make to get to where they are, sitting in your shop, ready to serve their purpose in a unit that needs them? It would be apt
Aftermarket transmission parts: The more you give, the more you get back
Ever since my father started his aftermarket automatic transmission parts company in 1961, transmissions have been a big part of my life. I grew up watching dad build his business and spent my formative professional years learning the ropes directly from the master. Back then, automatic transmissions were rare in the United States, so the
TD’s 2022 State of the Industry Report
The Transmission Digest Annual Survey of Retail Shops has served as benchmark and planning tool for the industry now for the past 36 years. Charts and tables in this section are based on a survey that was conducted early this year. Where differences are obvious, we separate the responses of transmission specialty shops from general
The effects of supply chain holdup on the transmission industry
Everyone is aware of the current supply chain issues plaguing our industry and many others. Between a lack of raw materials that affect all rubber/paper and steel products and problems with containers at our ports, these are issues that will continue through Q2 of 2022, if not beyond. This is happening during a time when
TD’s top ten products and tools of 2022
Transmission Digest readers voted during the past several weeks to select their favorite transmission products and tools for 2022 from among those nominated and published in the December issue. A note: there was a three-way tie in the voting for products, so 12 are listed; while only 9 tools were nominated. The winners are presented
Performance strong: Flex plate upgrades can add to shop profits
Transmission shops that participate in automatic performance work find that most of the work is either street rods or pickup trucks, particularly diesel pickups. In February 2021, TD published a detailed article focused on diesel truck transmissions and converters with Blake Carter of Suncoast. The first question that comes to mind are what effects the
